Swiss Patent No. 526,154 describes an alarm watch having a release mechanism comprising a wheel made of insulating material, the angular position of which can be adjusted, and a metal arm formed integrally with the pipe of the hour cannon wheel of the watch. A spring urges the insulating wheel against a projection located at the end of the said metal arm. The release of the alarm is produced when a contact member constituted by the said projection enters into contact with a second contact member which is carried by the insulating wheel.
One of the disadvantages of this known mechanism is that the metal arm is subjected, while it is rotating, due to the action of the return spring, to a considerable amount of energy-consuming friction. Now, in the case of electronic watches, where the source of energy is constituted by an electric battery cell, which has limited life, anything that causes an increase in consumption should obviously be avoided.
One object of the present invention is to avoid this disadvantage.